Blessings
by 4luv4evr428
Summary: A sequel to GeneaLady's "Unexpected Blessings." HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, GENEALADY! -Note: This story is not canon to the series or to my line of stories. I am simply finishing what my friend started.-


I.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the morning light streaming into their bedroom window. She found herself still enveloped in Ricky's embrace from the night before as he continued to sleep soundly. A wave of light nausea came over her and she gently slipped from Ricky's arms, headed for the bathroom. She stood there for a few seconds, waiting for what seemed like an inevitable sickness that never arrived. When the unproductive nausea passed, she grabbed her robe from the hook on the back of the door and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door gently so her husband could continue to rest.

She descended the stairs, noting how quiet the house was since little Ricky had spent the night at the Ramseys'. She laughed to herself that she should enjoy the peace while it lasted. Soon enough, the sounds of little Ricky would be magnified by the sounds of his little brother or sister, competing for the recognition as the loudest child. When she added the sounds of Ricky singing in the shower or calling for her, the sum was one noisy house.

Lucy walked out the back door into the yard, in time to see the boys running out of the Ramseys' house to catch their school bus. "Ricky, darling," she called.

Little Ricky skidded to a halt and turned to see his mother near the fence that separated their yards. He ran back toward her as Bruce waited for him on the sidewalk. "Hi, Mommy!"

She smiled broadly at him and rested a hand on his head. "Darling, I want you to come straight home after school today, alright? Your Daddy and I have something to talk to you about."

The boys eyes widened like saucers. "Am I in trouble?"

Lucy laughed. "No, dear, you're not in trouble. Should you be?" She bit her lip to suppress her laughter as she observed him thinking, trying to remember whether he'd done anything recently for which he deserved to be reprimanded.

"Nope!"

"Alright. Then will you do that for me?"

"Yes, Mommy."

Lucy smiled and blew her son a kiss over the fence. "Have a good day, darling, be good!"

Little Ricky ran back to Bruce and the two continued toward their bus stop. As Lucy turned to go back in the house, she saw Ethel approaching from the guest house, carrying a bowl of eggs. The thought of eggs quickly turned her stomach again, but she smiled and waved to Ethel, who quickened her pace toward Lucy.

"Good morning, Lucy! I brought some eggs by, I noticed you were almost out when I was here the other day."

"Thanks, Ethel. Want some coffee?"

"Sure! Fred's still sleeping like a fat, old log."

Lucy giggled. "Ricky's asleep, too. Come on." She took the bowl of eggs from Ethel's hands and led her into the house and the kitchen.

When they entered, Ethel sat down at the table while Lucy placed the eggs in the refrigerator and turned to prepare the coffee.

"What are you doing today, Ethel?"

Ethel thought a moment and shrugged. "Nothing much. I was gonna ask you! Why?"

Lucy plugged the coffee pot into the wall and turned to face her friend.

"I was going to wait for Ricky and Fred to be here, too, but I have to tell you."

Ethel looked at Lucy in puzzlement. "Tell me what?"

A smile crossed Lucy's face. "We're going to have another baby."

Ethel jumped up from the chair. "We are?!"

Lucy laughed. "That's what you said the first time!"

Ethel embraced her friend in a hug. "Oh, Lucy, I'm so happy for you! Does Ricky know yet?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, we found out yesterday."

Ethel was nearly bursting with excitement. "Oh, I've gotta go tell Fred!" She began running from the kitchen.

"Ethel, what about your coffee?"

But Ethel was already out the door by the time Lucy had finished the question. She giggled and leaned against the stove with her arms crossed.

II.

Lucy walked out to the living room carrying a plate containing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk in her hands. She set them down on the coffee table and Ricky looked over at her from his place on the couch, where he was reading a newspaper. "Hungry?" He smirked at her.

She stood up and smiled. "No, smarty, it's little Ricky's snack for after school."

Ricky laughed. "What time does he get home?"

Lucy turned to look at the clock on the mantle. "He should be home any minute now."

As soon as the sentence was out of her mouth, the front door opened and the little boy ran in like a whirlwind, slamming it closed behind him. "Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy," he said cheerfully.

He ran to them and leaped into Ricky's lap. "How come you're not at work, Daddy?"

Ricky put an arm around him. "Well…we have somethin' to talk to you about, ol' man."

Lucy sat beside her husband on the couch and rested a hand on her son's knee. "Ricky, darling, do you remember when Billy Munson down the street got a new baby sister?"

Little Ricky tilted his head in thought and then nodded. "Yeah!"

Ricky and Lucy smiled at each other and then looked back at him. Ricky placed his free hand on Lucy's lap. "Well, son, we're gonna have a new baby, too."

For a moment, little Ricky seemed stunned into silence, saying nothing as he looked at his mother, then his father, then back again.

Lucy spoke to him softly. "Sweetheart, how do you feel about that?"

"I have a question."

Ricky stifled a laugh. "What's your question?"

"Am I gonna get a brother or a sister?"

Lucy smiled. "We don't know yet, dear. We'll find out when it gets here."

"When will it get here?"

Ricky rubbed the boy's back. "November. Right before Thanksgivin'."

Little Ricky looked thoughtful and his parents waited for him to process their news. After a few moments, he smiled and hopped off of his father's lap, heading for the sandwich that sat just out of his reach. "Okay!"

III.

For the next several days, little Ricky asked more random questions as he thought more and more about the new baby. He had wondered where it would sleep, if it would be able to play with him right away and whether it was going to look like him.

Ricky and Lucy looked forward to the daily amusement that their son's questions brought them and they were pleased that he seemed to be very happy with the news.

One morning, Lucy and Ricky sat in the kitchen as he played outside with Bruce. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and they were talking quietly about what they needed for the baby's room. It had been quite a while since little Ricky had been an infant and in their relative confidence that he would be their only child, they had given his baby furniture and outgrown clothes to friends and to charity.

As they talked and held hands, little Ricky bounded into the kitchen in his normal, boisterous way. "I have a question," he announced. It had become a routine proclamation lately and his parents looked at him expectantly.

He looked at Lucy. "Mommy, how did the baby get in your stomach?"

She was taken aback by the question. "Uh..well…" She looked at Ricky, hoping for some help.

Little Ricky continued before she could say anything further. "Bruce says he thinks a big stork brings it and drops it down the chimney! But Billy said that wasn't true. He said that when his sister got here, his mommy got bigger and bigger until FINALLY she had to go to the hospital and she exploded the baby out of her belly button! So we think Billy must be right because what else is a belly button for? An' if only girls have babies, why do WE all have belly buttons, too? So now we just need to know who PUTS the baby into the belly button!"

By the time the boy finished his theorizing, Ricky was laughing so heartily that tears were streaming down his cheeks. Lucy exhaled and leaned against the table, looking at her son with wide eyes.

Little Ricky stood patiently as Lucy searched her mind for a good answer to his question and Ricky's laughing calmed.

Ricky squeezed Lucy's hand and stood up from the table. "Ricky, c'mon with me." He took the boy's hand and started to walk with him to the living room.

Lucy grabbed his arm. "What are you going to tell him?"

"Nothin' that he wun't understand," he assured her.

IV.

Ricky led his son to the living room and sat with him on the couch. "You wanna know how the baby got into Mommy's stomach, right?"

Little Ricky nodded.

"Well…son, men and women are different in some ways that you dun't understand yet. When you're a little older, I'll tell you more about that."

Little Ricky looked at his father intently and waited for him to continue.

"But for now, I can tell you that everybody has a belly button because that's not where babies go." Ricky stifled another laugh before going on. "And it doesn't have anythin' to do with a big stork or a chimney."

"So how does it happen, Daddy?"

Ricky sighed. "Well…your Mommy and I love each other very much. When we…showed each other that we love each other, then God gave us a baby. The same way he gave you to us. And the baby will keep growin' and getting' stronger until it's time to be born. Then Mommy will go to the hospital and the doctor will take the baby out of her stomach."

Little Ricky was pensive and it seemed to him that the real story as told by his father was far less exciting than the stories his friends had come up with. But since he'd never known his father to tell him things which weren't true, he accepted it as fact.

After a few moments of silence, Ricky prompted his son for a response. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy, but I have another question."

Ricky smiled. "What is it?"

"Are you still gonna do things with me even though you have a new baby?"

Ricky sighed. He'd been waiting for that question and he pulled the boy into his lap. "Ricky, you're my first little boy and that makes you very special. Someday when you're a man and you have children of your own, you'll understand that when you get a new baby, your heart gets bigger to make room for it. But nothing else changes. I love you and Mommy loves you and we're still gonna do all the thins we do right now."

Little Ricky's face brightened. "Okay, Daddy!" Smiling, and with his questions satisfied for now, he jumped out of his father's lap and sprinted back to the kitchen. A moment later, the back door slammed as he scampered back out to the yard and Lucy walked out to the living room.

She sat next to Ricky. "What did you say?"

"Nothin'! I just tol' him that when the time comes, the doctor takes the baby out and there are no storks or belly buttons involved." Ricky chuckled anew.

"But how did it get there?" Lucy looked at him cautiously.

Ricky leaned back. "I said God gave it to us."

Lucy tilted her head. "So not the ENTIRE story…"

"Of course not."

They laughed quietly.

V.

Little Ricky awoke earlier than normal one blustery morning some months later. The sound of a branch tapping his window in the breeze had bothered him out of a light sleep. He sat up when he heard the sounds of voices coming from downstairs. He climbed out of bed slowly and tiptoed out into the hallway. He knelt down on the floor near the banister when he saw his father talking to his Aunt Ethel and Uncle Fred below him.

"We didn't expect you back so soon! We were waiting for you to call…" Ethel said in a soft, yet excited voice, wringing her hands.

"It happened fast. There was hardly time."

"So everything's alright?" Fred stood anxiously.

Ricky nodded. "Yes, Lucy's fine and the baby's wonderful," he smiled.

Little Ricky's eyes widened and he forgot that he was supposed to be keeping silent. "The baby's here?!"

The three adults' heads whipped upward toward the voice on the staircase. For a moment, little Ricky thought he'd be in trouble for listening to them and he wished he could shrink into the carpet.

But Ricky smiled. "Com' ere, son."

Little Ricky walked gingerly down the stairs as Ethel and Fred sat on the couch, giving Ricky some space with his son.

Ricky knelt down next to the boy. "Ricky, I took Mommy to the hospital durin' the night because it was time for the baby to be born."

"Is Mommy okay?" Worry crossed little Ricky's face.

Ricky nodded quickly. "Yes, Mommy's just fine. Everythin' is fine."

"Did the doctor take the baby out of Mommy's stomach?"

"Yes, he did," Ricky grinned proudly. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"You have a new baby sister."

Little Ricky looked around. "Where is she?"

Ricky chuckled as Fred and Ethel laughed softly behind him. "Aw, Ricky, she's still at the hospital with Mommy. They need to stay there for a few days."

"Aw," little Ricky frowned and then began excitedly bouncing in place. "Can I go to see them?"

"Yes, I'm gonna take you to see them. That's why I came back home…to come get you."

Little Ricky flew back up the stairs in barely a blink of Ricky's eyes. "You hafta eat breakfast before we go!" He yelled after him.

Ethel scurried into the kitchen. "I'll fix him something!"

VI.

The drive in the station wagon seemed to take forever for little Ricky. He watched the nearly bare trees whizzing by and he occasionally looked out the back window to see the orange leaves swirl around the street in the car's wake.

Finally, they drove up to a large building that little Ricky had to look upward to see completely. The area was bustling with activity and he saw nurses and people walking all around them. Ricky got out of the car and opened the door to let his son out of the backseat.

Little Ricky took his father's hand as they crossed the parking lot and entered the building. A strong, new smell struck him as they continued down the hall. "Daddy, what is that smell?"

Ricky looked down at him briefly. "That's the way a hospital is supposed to smell, Ricky. It has to stay very clean, so they're always washin' the floors and all the rooms all the time."

They continued walking until they arrived at an elevator. Ricky picked up his son as they entered it and walked in front of the many buttons on the wall. "Press the number 5," he said happily.

Little Ricky pressed it eagerly and watched the door close. He looked up as a needle crept upward, a bell ringing each time they passed a floor.

When they arrived at the fifth floor, the doors opened slowly and little Ricky's eyes opened widely at the sound of what seemed like MANY babies crying.

Ricky continued to carry him down the hallway. "I'm carryin' you so you can see into the window…"

"The baby's out the window?" Little Ricky was shocked.

Ricky laughed. "Not OUT the window. She's in the nursery and we can see her through a window."

Little Ricky understood when they walked up to a large window overlooking another room. There were several babies in small cribs, lined up.

Ricky peered into the window for a moment, then pointed to one of the babies in front of them. "That's your sister, right there."

Little Ricky pressed his face to the glass and looked at the baby. She had curly, deep black hair and she looked up at them through squinted eyes. "Is that what I looked like, Daddy?"

Ricky smiled, remembering. "Yes, but different, too. Your hair wasn't as curly and your eyes were darker. The doctor said he thinks this baby will have blue eyes, like Mommy." He turned to look at the boy. "What do you think?"

Little Ricky knocked on the glass softly to make the baby look at him. "She's pretty."

Ricky nodded. "Yes, she's very pretty. And you're her big brother, so that means you have to protect her all the time."

"Okay, Daddy." Little Ricky looked at his father proudly, beaming that he'd been given an important job.

A nurse walked up to the crib where the baby lay and motioned to Ricky, who nodded in understanding.

He lowered little Ricky to the floor again and took his hand. "We're gonna go see Mommy and get a better look at the baby."

VII.

Ricky released his son's hand as he opened the door to Lucy's room. Little Ricky walked uncharacteristically slowly into the room when he saw his mother sitting up in bed, holding the baby in her arms. She smiled broadly when she saw him. "Hi, honey!"

Upon seeing for himself that she looked alright, he trotted up to her and hopped onto the bed beside her. She kissed his cheek as he hugged her.

He then looked at the bundle in her arms, getting a better look than he'd had through the window. The baby wiggled gently and released a small cry.

Ricky sat on the edge of the bed near them, his hand resting on Lucy's leg. He leaned toward her and kissed her softly, lingering near her face. "How are you," he whispered.

She smiled, whispering back to him between the kisses he left on her cheek. "I'm fine, darling."

They looked down at their son, who had taken to counting the fingers on his sister's tiny hands. Lucy giggled. "Do you like her?"

Little Ricky looked up at her and smiled. "Yes, Mommy. I have a question!"

Ricky laughed. "Of course you do!"

Lucy bit her lip, stifling her own laughter. "What's your question, sweetheart?"

"What's the baby's name?"

Ricky and Lucy looked at each other and she turned her gaze down to the baby. "Her name is Eva Linda," she said sweetly.

"Eva Linda," little Ricky repeated. He looked at the baby thoughtfully before looking back up at his parents. "Can I call her Evy?"

They looked at each other again. Ricky smiled broadly. "I like it. What do you think, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "I think it's sweet." She turned to little Ricky. "Yes, darling, you can call her Evy."

He watched as she handed Evy gingerly to Ricky's waiting arms. He craned his neck to continue to look at her as his father held her. Ricky looked up. "Com 'ere, son."

Lucy smiled tearfully as she watched little Ricky crawl across the bed and settle next to his father. Ricky put his arm around his son as he held the baby in his other arm and Lucy remembered how much more timid he'd been when holding the newborn little Ricky. She saw much more confidence in him this time around.

She watched him look down at the baby and speak to her softly as little Ricky looked on. "Tu es mi joya preciosa, mi nina. Te amo."

He looked at little Ricky and squeezed him lovingly. "Hemos sido bendecidos dos veces."


End file.
